More COVID-19 Cases Reported In Charlotte Metro Schools

CHARLOTTE, NC — Days into the first week of school for K-12 students in North Carolina, and COVID-19 has taken center stage, and for some districts, already upended plans for the launch of the new school year.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools began the 2020-2021 school year Monday with remote instruction, while many other school districts in the metro region opted for modified in-person instruction. By Thursday, however, COVID-19 cases had been reported in at least five schools in four counties in the greater Charlotte region, prompting some to abruptly change course with school plans, according to health officials and local reports.

In Rowan County, at least 19 cases of COVID-19 were traced back to five staff members of North Hills Christian School who recently tested positive, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

In Iredell County, 159 seventh grade students at Third Creek Middle School in Statesville began the new school year Monday with remote learning for two weeks after a positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed associated with the school. Students in sixth and eight grades at the school, however, were set to continue on the modified in-person schedule.

Two days later, an individual connected to Lake Norman Elementary in Mooresville tested positive for COVID-19, prompting a warning to parents from county health officials to monitor for symptoms.

Thursday, a Union County elementary school closed to teachers and students and pivoted to remote instruction for at least three weeks after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19, WBTV reported.

In Gaston County, an employee of North Gaston High School also recently tested positive for COVID-19. "Contact tracing has been conducted, and people believed to have been in close contact with the employee (for 15 minutes or longer) have been contacted and advised about what to do,” school principal George Conner told parents in an email, WSOC reported. According to the station, Conner also urged parents to not share details about the case because, "doing so only 'fuels the rumor mill.'"

As of Aug. 20, at least 221 positive COVID-19 confirmations were associated with ongoing outbreaks and clusters at 20 child care facilities in the state that had claimed the life of at least one staff member at a child care facility in Washington Count, DHHS said.

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North Carolina health officials reported 1,972 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases Thursday, increasing the state's tally to 149,904, according to data released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

For the second day in a row, the death toll rose by 35. As of Thursday, 2,465 North Carolina residents had lost their lives to COVID-19 since DHHS began recording virus-related deaths in the state in March.

The positivity rate increased slightly Thursday, according to DHHS data. About 8 percent of tests in North Carolina were positive Aug. 20, up from 6 percent reported Aug. 18.

At least 22 new COVID-19 hospitalizations were reported Thursday, upping the number of patients seeking medical treatment throughout the state to 1,023 patients, DHHS said. In the greater Charlotte metro region, a survey of 94 percent of hospitals indicated that as Aug. 20, the region had 71 empty staffed Intensive Care Unit beds, and 1,073 empty staffed inpatient hospital beds.

At least 212 hospital patients in the region were on a ventilator, DHHS said.

Globally, more than 22 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 789,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday afternoon. In the United States, more than 5.5 million people have been infected and more than 173,000 people have died from COVID-19.

SEE ALSO:

• All UNC Undergrad Classes To Go Full Remote Amid COVID Fear
  
• Iredell School's COVID-19 Case Leads To Quarantine Of 7th Grade
• COVID-19 Case Reported At Lake Norman Elementary In Mooresville